Where will Bafana Bafana's goals come from?

05 September 2018 - 09:58

By
Nick Said

Image: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images
Bafana Bafana Belgium-based striker Percy Tau jogs with his French-based national teammate Keagan Dolly during the South African senior national men's team training session at Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban on September 04, 2018. SA take on Libya in their second group game at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday September 2 2018 for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted in Cameroon.

The loss of in-form striker Lebo Mothiba has been a blow for Bafana Bafana ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Libya on Saturday as Stuart Baxter juggles a squad with not many international goals.

In fact‚ the 22 players that make up his selection have only 24 goals among them at international level‚ with only nine having found the back of the net before.

And of those‚ only four have scored in Afcon or World Cup qualifiers.

TimesLIVE looks at the nine who have netted before in the current squad:

MOTJEKA MADISHA

Caps/goals: 4/1

The stylish Mamelodi Sundowns centre-back scored with a header in the final of the Plate competition at the Cosafa Cup this year. He has netted for Sundowns too and even took a penalty in a 4-0 win over Baroka FC last season.

Caps/goals: 7/1

Xulu grabbed his only international goal to date when he scored from a set-piece in the 4-1 victory over Namibia in the Plate semifinals at the Cosafa Cup this year.

He managed three goals for Maritzburg United last season too.

AUBREY MODIBA

Caps/goals: 8/2

Image: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
SuperSport United utility player Aubrey Modiba all smiles during the Cosafa Cup quarterfinal match between South Africa and Madagascar at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on June 13 2018.

Both of Modiba’s goals came in the Cosafa Cup this year as he netted a penalty against Namibia and then followed that up with a shot at the end of a sweeping move in the victory over Botswana.

Caps/goals: 8/2

Grobler netted on debut for Bafana as they lost away in a friendly in Zimbabwe in 2011‚ with his only other goal coming in a 1-1 draw with Mozambique in 2016.

He had come on at halftime for Dutch-born Lars Veldwijk‚ who was supposed to be the new scoring hope for Bafana but has not been seen since.

KEAGAN DOLLY

Caps/goals: 13/2

Image: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix
Keagan Dolly, who plays for Montpellier in the French Lique1, stretches during the Bafanaa Bafana training session at Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban September 3 2018.

Both of Dolly’s international goals came in the same game and they were each stunners from range.

He netted twice in the 4-0 away victory over Gambia in the Afcon qualifiers in 2016. He might feel he should have more goals by now.

Furman doesn’t score many‚ but when he does they tend to be important goals.

His first came in his 15th appearance for Bafana when he got the ball rolling in a 4-1 victory over Botswana in a World Cup qualifier five years ago.

He also netted in that 3-0 win over Mali in 2015‚ before getting a goal away in Burkina Faso in a World Cup qualifier in 2016 that ended 1-1.

PERCY TAU

Caps/goals: 12/5

Image: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images
Percy Tau (L), who plays in the Belgium second division, shares a moment with his Bafana Bafana teammates Tiyani Mabunda (C) and Ramahlwe Mphahlele (R) during a training session at Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban September 04, 2018.

The player with the best scoring ratio for the national team in the squad‚ Tau may have to carry the hopes of the country in this regard and looks to be in decent form at the start of his new adventure in Belgium.

He scored his first Bafana goal in his third cap against Guinea-Bissau in 2017‚ before adding the second in the country’s famous 2-0 win away in Nigeria that kicked off their Afcon qualification campaign.

He got his third against Burkina Faso in a World Cup qualifier last year‚ before netting in Dakar against Senegal in the same qualifiers‚ and then again against Zambia in the Four Nations Tournament in March.

SIBUSISO VILAKAZI

Caps/goals: 30/5

Vilakazi has a knack of getting into good scoring positions so he may fell a tad disappointed about is international tally to date‚ but he is a real danger to the opposition in the box.

He opened his account by netting twice against Sudan after coming on as a substitute in a Nations Cup qualifier in 2014‚ the first match in charge for then coach Shakes Mashaba.

He also netted twice in pre-Nations Cup friendlies in 2015 against Cameroon and Mali respectively‚ and his last goal came in the 3-1 victory over Burkina Faso in a World Cup qualifier in 2017.

Tickets for the highly-anticipated Afcon 2019 qualifier between Bafana and Libya have been on sale since last week and fans in and around Durban are urged to make their way to various computicket, Shoprite and Checkers stores to book their seats at the majestic Moses Mabhida Stadium to rally behind the boys.